First blog for ages as I have been a bit busy. Mind you the weather has been awful with torrential rain and high winds making fishing difficult, Still, there is always the fly vice and tying flies, which most fly fishermen will turn to in the close season, unless like myself they have the odd day here and there on the trout fisheries trying for stocked Rainbows. I don't really like some of these small fisheries where you stand shoulder to shoulder with other anglers. It reminds me of the Golf Driving Ranges where it's practice, not the real thing but it keeps you from getting rusty.

Carron Reservoir

I've had a few days on my local river with mixed success, some days catching regularly while others have been blank but enjoyable. All the trout I have caught have been well under a pound in weight and all returned, a change from my youth when the river regularly gave up the odd fish well over a pound in weight and there were more trout in those days too, or is that just my imagination? Next season I intend to have a lot of days on the Carron Reservoir, which is just a half hours drive away and is one of Scotland's best trout fisheries.

Rubber Fetish?

I've not posted for a while, mainly due to the weather, which has been typical of a Scottish Summer, wet, wild and windy, though mainly wet. The only comfort is that it has been far worse down south where they have encountered flooding, mainly in the north of England, it's strange that they still have hose pipe bans.

Shakespeare Waist Wader

After unsuccessfully fishing in wellies and getting soaked, I decided to get myself a cheap pair of waders. I wanted waist waders as they were just as cheap as thigh waders but more practical for fishing, such as sitting on wet grass or wading up to my arse. Sadly buying cheap waders doesn't include those light, breathable ones made of a few layers of materials. Cheap waders mean PVC or rubber or similar materials, sweat inducing materials, the kind of stuff that makes you sweat just trying to get the waders on and once they are on, you pray for a cold wind just to stop the sweat running down your legs.

I bought the cheapest I could find - a pair of waist waders by Shakespeare in a size 1 for £27.99 including delivery. I am normally a 10 but wanted a bit of room for thick socks. They arrived the following day and on opening the parcel, I understood why they were quickly despatched - the stink of rubber is overpowering, god knows what a shop full of them must be like. I then tried them on only for my partner to laughingly accuse me of being kinky and having a rubber fetish.

They are a good fit and I'm glad I ordered them in an 11 as the smaller size would have been a bit tight in the feet. They seem well made but I will report back on them when I get out fishing. You get a repair kit with the waders - reassuring.........not.

Wet Feet In Wellies

Where I caught my first wild brown trout for over
thirty-years, fishing from the opposite bank.

A lovely overcast, dull, warm day found me down at the river with my new rod, reel and line, a few flies and a pair of wellies. I geared up and tied a tapered leader (I can't remember these thirty odd years ago) on to my floating line and quickly realised that I need to buy a line straightener. After pulling the leader under tension through my T-shirt several times, it still had a bit of a coil to it, though not too bad. I tied on a tiny black spider I had made the night before and had my first cast.

For a first cast in over thirty years, I was really surprised, as I had missed all the tree branches, rocks and debris lying around but had also missed the water, the fly landing on the opposite bank and snagging on some weeds. I didn't want to yank my new rod and as the river looked very shallow I waded across the few yards of water and found myself up to my knees in it, which would have been OK but for the fact that the wellies only reached to just below my knees. There's nothing like the feeling of really cold wetness running down your legs

I retrieved the fly and poured the water out of the wellies and then hung my socks on a tree branch to dry. I was determined to carry on fishing and then slipped the cold wellies back on and tried again. After an hour or so I was really enjoying myself and wasn't giving a damn if I caught a fish or not, it just felt really great being out on the water, not a soul in sight and just the sights and sounds of nature for company, bliss. It was lovely to spot a Kingfisher streaking by me in a blur of blue and orange. I hadn't seen any sign of trout, no rises, nothing. It couldn't be for a lack on insect life as there was plenty of insects clinging to the underside of every large stone I looked under and several Dippers were disappearing under the water and emerging with insects in their beaks. I remembered as a boy watching what seemed to be shoals of trout lying below the bridge over the water at Lennox Castle Hospital. Changed days or perhaps just the imaginations of a small boy. 

Anyway, I kept plugging away, usually having to roll cast for short distances upstream trying to avoid banks, trees, vegetation and the odd household item that had been tossed into the river.

  I eventually stunned myself when I cast my little black fly into a ripple and watched as the end of my fly line stopped, I raised the rod tip and found myself with a hooked fish. After a very short fight I was holding it in my wet hand, all five or six ounces of wild brown trout. It was at this point that I wondered how anglers can carry a camera and take a photo while holding a slippery wet trout. I have a digital SLR but no way is that going near water, too expensive and too heavy, so I will probably have to invest in a cheap digital compact just for fishing, something that will fit into a waistcoat pocket.

Anyway, I slipped the hook from the trout's mouth and held him in the water until he flipped his tail and buggered off, hopefully to fight another day. After that I called it a day as my sockless feet were killing me having been stuck inside wet wellies for a couple of hours.

I was pleased with the rod and reel, especially as I had bought it mainly for loch fishing, being nine and a half feet long and 6/7 rated it casts beautifully and has a nice action. The only problems I encountered were that the river is narrow and mostly tree lined with over-hanging branches, and a shorter rod, probably seven or seven and a half feet and 3/4 rated would have been ideal.

Next purchase just has to be a pair of waders, probably bootfoot waist waders as they will keep my arse dry and I really don't see myself wading any deeper than the top of my legs - famous last words.

New Rod & Reel

I went out for a walk to buy a newspaper this afternoon and when I returned, there it was, my new rod and reel...............lying on the doorstep for any lucky sod to lift.

What is it with delivery drivers, this one was obviously a lazy bastard who couldn't be arsed walking a few yards to hand it into the neighbours.

It was well packaged mind you, all inside a large black plastic tube with the reel box attached......it looked like a bleeding bazooka. 

I eventually got it unpacked (thumbs up to Yorkshire Game Angling) and put the rod together then screwed on the reel. I was really impressed as it has been a long time since I held a fly rod, it was well balanced, really light and felt good.

The reel feels light and solid and is black with a die cast aluminium frame and a clear composite spool. The reel comes with four spool in total, three are pre-loaded with floating, intermediate and sinking lines with backing and braided loops attached.

It's just a pity it was chucking it down and blowing like mad or I was off for a few practice casts. I've not fly fished for 35 years, so a day or two won't matter. I will just content myself with tying a few flies in anticipation of catching a few trout with them.....or more like a few tree branches.

I went into the Glasgow Angling Centre for a look around, having no intentions of buying anything.....yeah right. Anyway, I spotted a Wychwood Rover bag and liked the look of it, no zips, buckles or fasteners, just a couple of magnets used to keep it closed, no fumbling with cold, wet hands trying to open a bag - at under £20.00 a bargain.

It has two pockets with Velcro fastening under the main flap and a large waterproof interior space with two mesh pockets sewn in. Very light and ideal for tramping along river banks.


Features

• Easy secure no zip design

• Unique tippet discard pocket

• Internal rubber mesh pockets

• Non-slip padded shoulder strap

• Weather and rot resistant

• High quality 1680D waterproof fabric

Dimensions: 38 x 28 x 10cm

New Gear

Well, that's the rod, reel and line ordered. After a couple of weeks of web browsing and visiting a few angling shops, I decided on the Sonik SK3 9ft 6in. 6/7 rod, Sonik SK3 cassette reel, pre-loaded with Sonik floating, intermediate and sinking lines, all for £149.99.  I chose this outfit mainly for fishing the numerous lochs and stillwaters around my area. The rod, reel and fly line have all had excellent reviews and at that price, was a bargain.
I will post a review of the rod, reel and line in the near future.

Now I need to arrange to have a couple of casting lessons - back on the internet.

TV Presenters

I've been watching and listening to fishing programmes and podcasts of various angling programmes and have come to the following conclusions.

Paul Young: A really good presenter and a good fly fisherman who comes across as a decent guy who I would gladly share a boat and have a pint with.

Matt Hayes/Mick Brown: Matt and his mate Mick present different types of angling, from coarse to fly fishing. Matt is a fair fly angler though Mick's fly casting could be better, and he admits it too. Both are really easy to watch and listen to and come over as decent guys. Again, I could share a boat and have a pint with them.

Rex Hunt: Another enthusiastic angler who is Australian, is easy going, loves his fishing and I would gladly share a boat with him. Don't know about a pint though, he looks like a pint would just be the start.

Hywel Morgan: The man can cast a bit and is an excellent presenter, enthusiastic and knowledgeable. Would like to pick his brains when sharing a boat and a pint.

John Wilson: Enthusiastic, knowledgeable and jack of all trade as a fisherman. Every time he has a fish on he erupts into inane giggling and can often be seen unhooking a guests fish, showing it to the camera then returning it to the water, all without the person who caught the fish even holding it. I would gladly share a boat with the man but as soon as the giggling started, the priest would be bouncing off the back of his head.